Uttarakhand: 9 youths walk 300 km to save Joshimath, grand welcome in Dehradun

Nine youths from Joshimath reached Dehradun after walking 300 km in 14 days to take the demand of saving Joshimath to the government, and they were warmly welcomed at various places. These youths were taken in a procession from Rispana bridge to Shaheed Smarak. Along with welcoming these youths, a discussion was also organized on this occasion. Renowned environmentalist Prof. Ravi Chopra, Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti convenor Atul Sati, activist Indresh Makhuri and Uttarakhand Mahila Manch’s Nirmala Bisht participated. Earlier, on behalf of the youth who reached Dehradun on foot from Joshimath, Sachin shared his experiences during the yatra with the people present at the martyr’s memorial.

A group of nine youths from Joshimath first came to Joshimath after no serious effort was made by the government to rehabilitate the people in Joshimath and despite continuous protests in Joshimath since December, there was no assurance from the government. Left for Dehradun from Joshimath on March. Walking about 300 kms, these young men reached Dehradun on March 14, meeting people all the way and talking about the current condition of Joshimath and gathering the support of common people in this matter.

On reaching Dehradun, this group of youth was first welcomed at Jogiwala Chowk. When the group of youths reached the Rispana bridge while walking, hundreds of people present there welcomed them with folk songs. After this, the youths were taken in a procession to the martyr’s memorial at Kachari. Hundreds of people were already present at the martyr’s place. Apart from Insaniyat Manch and Uttarakhand Mahila Manch, people from dozens of other organisations, activists and people from Joshimath region living in Dehradun were present in these. A discussion was organized on the Martyr’s Memorial.

Atul Sati, convenor of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, told about the movement being carried out in Joshimath. He said that despite all the obstacles, the movement is going on in the Joshimath tehsil campus for the last about three months. He said that the cracks in Joshimath had started from November 2021 itself. Since then, the affected people were constantly informing the concerned authorities and public representatives about the problem. From 2021 itself, people had started expressing the apprehension of a major landslide in Joshimath in the future. But no action was taken at any level.

By December 2022, cracks started appearing all over Joshimath and hundreds of houses started collapsing, then a big demonstration was held in Joshimath on 24th December. Thousands of people participated in this demonstration. The people of Joshimath expected that after this the government would alert and take some steps for relief and rescue, but still the government and the administration remained silent. In the beginning of January, suddenly the cracks started increasing and the ground started sinking and when the media of the country and abroad reached Joshimath, the administration became active. Some announcements were made. There was talk of rehabilitation, relief package and pre-fabricated buildings, but nothing has happened till date. Not even a single pre-fabricated building has been completed in the last three months. Nor has any permanent arrangement been made for the affected people so far.

Environmentalist Prof. Ravi Chopra said that the government has in a way announced that there is no problem in Joshimath now. Now the government is not even talking about Joshimath, while the truth is that the problem of Joshimath still remains as it was. The ground is continuously sinking and the houses are continuously developing cracks. The government had announced in January that all the affected families would be rehabilitated in two weeks, but now that it has been two months, far from being rehabilitated, people have not even got immediate relief. He said that not only the state government but also the central government is guilty of neglecting Joshimath.

The National Disaster Management Authority works under the Central Government. It is the job of this authority to investigate any possibility of disaster anywhere in the country and give suggestions to the government for rescue. Pro. Chopra said that Joshimath’s collapse has become the media headlines of the country and abroad, but the National Disaster Management Authority has not yet received any report on it. The State Disaster Mitigation and Management Authority has also been found to be only covering up in this matter.

When asked about the beginning of the Badrinath Yatra next month amid landslides in Joshimath, he said that the Badrinath route has sunk several times in the recent past. Cracked places are covered with soil, stones, rubble, but cracks occur again, in some places deep pits are formed. In such a situation, how will the government assure the pilgrims and tourists that their journey will be completely hassle-free, he said.

Prof. Chopra said that the rainy season is not far away. The way the government has been sitting on its hands for three months, it does not seem that any arrangement will be made by the government for the affected people till the onset of monsoon. In such a situation, Joshimath will become extremely unsafe during the rainy days and some big incident can also happen.

Nirmala Bisht of Uttarakhand Mahila Manch said that as long as there was a media gathering in Joshimath, politicians and officials also kept camping in Joshimath, making various announcements, but as soon as the media returned from Joshimath, the officials and leaders also started their- have returned to their dens. He said that these days the assembly session is going on in Gairsain. All organizations and opposition parties should put pressure on the government to discuss the issue of Joshimath in this budget session and this serious issue should also be discussed in the Parliament of the country, so that a concrete strategy can be worked out for the people of Joshimath. Can and some concrete work can be done in the direction of closing the destructive projects going on in the mountains.

On behalf of the youth who reached Dehradun after traveling on foot from Joshimath, Sachin shared his experiences about his 14-day journey. He said that in this journey people met him in groups at many places, while on the rest of the way he kept talking to everyone he met and discussed the situation in Joshimath. He said that all the people he talked to on the way were unanimous that big hydropower projects are dangerous for the mountain, they should be curbed.

Indresh Makhuri, an activist associated with the Joshimath movement and state secretary of the CPI ML, said that the only way to save Joshimath is to show the way out of Joshimath to NTPC, the company building the Tapovan-Vishnugad project. He said that it is repeatedly said by the supporters of power that for development one has to face some destruction. But, he raised the question whether a project brings development to those who have to face destruction. He said that those who cause destruction have no stake in development. Indresh Makhuri said that the people of Joshimath have raised their voice against this project even 20 years ago and are raising it even today.